---because, after all, the center of the universe is Georgia. I'm not entirely kidding. Once, when in my high school library reading National Geographic because they had nothing worth reading which I hadn't already read, I read a long article on Georgia which convinced me that I was born in the wrong nation. It impressed me enough that I have a daughter with that name (OK, I had a grandmother named Georgia too; whatever).

On that note, there are no religious images in this world which haunt me more than this one:

I love Georgian chant. Thanks for posting the video. A couple of Paschas ago, the SoCal Georgian community came and served Pascha with our (fairly plain-Jane) OCA church. Their mountain chant was so incredibly gorgeous and haunting. One of the most beautiful Paschas of my life.

Regarding your haunting, are you referring to the icon's substance or its style? Its style appears to be closer to that of the early (mid-1st millennial) Monophysite icons and possibly reflects the Armenian influence in Georgia of that period. Here's someone who paints both periods (I'm linking only to the older): http://www.iconpainter.ge/icons/archaic-style

I think that the main reason that I'm haunted by this icon is that a person (one of two as I recall) who pointed it out to me and told me that it was "the only icon left which still facilitated prayer" for him died awhile back. For some reason the veneration of Lot offered him a particularly needed avenue of hope.

Aside from that I suppose that the icon's substance is of more concern to me, though I do like that "archaic Georgian" style and I think that archaic form especially suits the subject of Lot. I think that my favorite Eastern iconography might be Romanian folk icons. I prefer the Moscow School to Novgorod and to classical Byzantine iconography, but I think my favorite iconography is the more folk and archaic stuff.

My monk son introduced us to Georgian chant. Choir director Wifey loves it but finding music for it is tough. Beautiful chant (and icon). I love the Ethiopian/Coptic styles of iconography. I miss the Coptic Church we rented for a year.